Someone, somewhere, right now is thinking about learning exactly what you want to teach them. How do I know this? We have enough people on this planet. And they all need to learn things to get to the next level.

And the best way to reach them? Writing. (Well, hunting them down and addressing them face-to-face might be better, but is it really cost effective?)

Writing can help you get your ideas, programs, and processes to the far ends of the Earth thanks to the internet, the Worldwide Web, and mail. All you have to do is pick your platform.

So what appeals most to you? You could try blogging, books, or articles to get the word out. If you’re leaning toward one of those platforms, next think about what your audience is most likely to read. Is this a place where your voice needs to be heard? Different industries rely on different platforms a little more.

And you can’t choose wrong, because writing is flexible. You can repurpose, spruce up, and flesh out anything. Or tear it down into a bite-sized dose. So you could have the same ideas across any number of platforms, as long as you say it differently or focus on different parts of the story.

The biggest thing is that you have to recognize your audience and know the purpose of your writing. Once you have that figured out, you ALWAYS have a call-to-action (basically instructions for what the reader should do, click, or buy next) at the end of the writing that you’re doing, so make sure you understand what you want the reader to do next and prepare for that before releasing that written work to the world.

But it goes a little deeper than that. You have to know what you actually know: know the limits of your knowledge. You wouldn’t want to talk about heart surgery if you’ve only done experiments on heart tissue in a lab. So only talk about where you’ve actually been. (Note that I’m not addressing researchers here. This is for people sharing their personal journey.)

Plus, you don’t want to set out on a long project like a book if it’s a topic that you really don’t care to write about. (Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend it for ANY length of writing.) Even though it may be a need in your niche, if you don’t care to write about it or you don’t know enough about it, then don’t write about it.

Sounds pretty simple, right?

Tackling a project that you don’t want to do makes writing no fun at all, and that makes it likely that you won’t complete the project, which can send you into a negative feedback loop.

So write what you love, write what you know, and know the next step. Guide your readers from A to B and let them know how you can help them out beyond that. When it’s authentic and helpful, when it comes from your heart and addresses a need, then the connections will come. I promise.